Philadelphia Eagles won’t receive compensatory picks in 2018 NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t awarded any compensatory selections for the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft. That shouldn’t surprise anyone.

On Friday afternoon, a full list of awarded compensatory picks that were awarded for the 2018 NFL Draft was generated. Then, that list was distributed from league offices to each NFL franchise. As expected the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t awarded with any. That, alone, is not a reason to panic.

For those who may need a refresher course or are hearing the term for the first time, the process may need to be explained a little. Don’t worry. ITI has you covered.

Here’s a quick explanation of how this works.

Philadelphia Eagles

To make long stories short, 32 selections, as you know, are made in each of the seven rounds of every draft. In addition to that, 32 compensatory picks are handed out. This is based on the players teams lost and gained in free agency and how the league views the value of those players.

Buckle up. This could get complicated.

If the league deems a team lost lost more free agents or a higher number of free agents who were more crucial to the team’s overall success than they were able to sign in the previous year, they’ll receive picks. Those they receive will fall somewhere between the third through seventh rounds. On the other hand, teams that gain and lose the same number of players but lose higher-valued players can also be awarded a pick. Unfortunately for them, those picks will only be awarded for the seventh round, after everyone else has been able to use theirs.

Using a proprietary formula, the league defines a certain class of unrestricted free agents as ‘compensatory free agents’. Compensatory picks are handed out each year. They can be traded at the beginning of the NFL Draft. The placement of each picks is always determined by formula. This is based on the player’s salary and his playing time. Postseason honors that he may have been awarded with his new team are also taken into consideration. Salary earned, however, is always the primary factor.

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Here’s a list of the 15 teams who were awarded compensatory picks for the 2018 NFL Draft.

In the case of the Eagles, it’s safe to say that their off-season acquisitions worked out pretty nicely. Guys like wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, running back LeGarrette Blount, cornerback Patrick Robinson and defensive end Chris Long were all key in a season-long and postseason run that delivered the first Lombardi Trophy to ‘The City of Brotherly Love’. Now, they’ll look to manipulate the salary cap once again and hold on to as many of the 14 impending free agents on the current roster as they can.

Seeing as how quite a few of these guys will walk, the Eagles may be in the running for some compensatory picks in 2019.